let's go to kentucky. >> boo-yah.

>> a hillbilly boo-yah. >> caller: here's a big las vegas boo-yah. >> caller: a big staten island, hey now, forget about it boo-yah! >> caller: boston -- >> caller: michigan -- >> alaska -- >> boo-yahs come from all across america, let cramer help you channel yours. "mad money" with jim cramer weeknights. i like to say there's always a bull market somewhere, and i promise to try to find it just good evening, everyone. i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." here is a political sizzler. are the republicans setting up a circular firing squad? has karl rove declared war on the tea party? if he has, it's a real bad idea. also tonight, the stock market takes its biggest correction of the year across the board. some are blaming spain. nonsense. i say buy the correction back.

profits are the mother's milk of stocks and theorizing. you saw it last night. get this. beyonce met solyndra in new orleans. the greenest super bowl in history delivered a 35-minute power outage. who will take the rap? "the kudlow report" begins right now. first up tonight republicans lost big last november. now they're trying to come up with a new unified branding message. here's karl rove declaring war against the tea party. heck, why not a firing squad? it might be easier. it might be cheaper. i don't get this at all. here now with the story, cnbc contributor robert costa from the national review. robert, what is this? what's going on here? >> it's a big story, larry. karl rove one of the top republican strategists in the country is upset with republican primary voters. he looks at 2010, 2012.

he thinks republicans are nominating poor candidates. what he's doing with the super pac is trying to pick better candidates beyond primaries and make the beltway crowd pick nominees and a support them. >> that's a great idea. let the beltway crowd pick them like they have had a good run. >> well -- >> i will do this when we are joined by your colleagues. there is a bunch of establishment republican old line senate candidates who got their you know what -- kicked butt this year. these guys are friends of mine. it's not personal. tommy thompson of virginia. heather wilson in new mexico. linda lingel in hawaii rehberg. all those guys lost. what did i miss?

that's it. josh mandel in ohio. meaning no disrespect but how the hell is karl rove or establishment going to pick better candidates? what about primaries, democracy? >> it's a fair point, larry. this is the big war within the republican party. karl rove is looking at candidates like todd akin, christine o'donnell from 2010. he's sick and tired of republicans nominating candidates he thinks can't win. tommy thompson and other establishment republicans struggled. rove wants to move in that direction. >> i count six down for rove. he's minus six. you want to go back two years, okay. christine o'donnell was a dope. i told her that on this show. sharon angle not ready for prime time. maybe a house member some day, i don't know. bad tea party candidates. akin wasn't really a tea party candidate. just said dumb things. coaching is what we need here.

not warfare. that's my take. >> karl rove's point is he thinks republicans are so close to potentially getting the senate majority in 2014 h. he wanted in some of the swing states for republicans to move to the center and win seats they have been throwing away with. your point is fair. maybe republicans have to get more conservative with better candidates rather than more centrist ones. >> move to the center. geez. >> that's rove's point. >> much better. bob, hang b with me. the question is, is a gop civil war looming? sounds like it. jonathan collegio is spokesman for the karl rove victory project. mike needham of action for america. with all due respect to you and steve law and karl rove, with all the greatest respect, i want to run a list. you had nothing to do with electing these brilliant tea party senators. i mean brilliant.

pat tumey. >> we spent money on him. >> marco rubio. >> we spent money on him. >> rand paul. >> we spent money on paul. >> and mike lee. that's good. they won the primaries, did good and you won. why do you want to mess with the blim guys and take on the tea party? you will take on the club for growth, take on americans for prosperity. you are going to make one bloody mess inside the gop. that's what you're going to do. >> this whole line about a war going on against the tea party has nothing to do with us. we want to institute what william f. buckley calls his rule to elect the most conservative candidates in primaries capable of winning in generals. when it comes to supporting tea party candidates american crossroads and crossroads gps are bigger supporters than anyone. we spent $30 million helping conservative candidates like richard murdoch, todd akin before he said the crazy stuff in these things.

this is not a war against the tea party. this is a matter of trying to get candidates who can speak on disciplined messages, raise money -- >> you didn't support them during the primary. you did not. jim demint did. >> we have not been involved in primaries until this point. >> keep it that way. that's my point. mike, i don't want karl rove, as much as i respect him, why should they be involved in primaries? why should they push the old establishment tired old republicans? i want new blood, new messages. i want more ted cruzs. they would never support ted. >> you're right. the problem is this is a discussion about whether a small group of people in washington get to choose who the most conservative, electable candidate is or do the people choose? reagan said in 1975 the american people are hungry for a sense of mission and a sense of greatness. the reason the republican party

keeps losing elections is they don't stand for anything. grassroots worked for marco rubio, ted cruz, rand paul, mike lee. all were told by the establishment, well, rand paul can't win in kentucky. or if we put money into marco rubio's race we don't have -- >> take ron johnson in wisconsin. >> they didn't let the american people vote conservative. >> it was jim demint and his crowd that took over. robert costa, look. i'm a national review guy. you're a national review guy. bill buckley said people should elect the most electable conservative. he was giving advice in primaries, not saying they should be picked from above by a small group of people sitting around a table at sunday luchbl. that bothers me about this. that's what bothers me. their consultants have a good track record now. i would love to see humility.

>> that's a fair point. let's drill down to what this is about. i called top republican donors and said it comes down to money. they are frustrated with the field of candidates for senate seats. if they're going to donate to american crossroads or any other race or getting a bang for their buck, candidates who will win. >> they're going to get a bang like a civil war revolutionary bang. that's what they're going to get. >> well, larry, to build on that point quickly, if you look at the republican convention, all of the stars -- ted cruz, marco rubio, nicky haley in south carolina. he was the number four person in the establishment's eyes in is the south carolina primary. the stars of the republican party are people the republican voters wanted and put forth. unfortunately the establishment doesn't like that. they don't vote -- >> jonathan, i want to give you

a last chance for redemption on the show today. i want a chance for redemption. here is the way out of the mess you have created over the weekend. just take the candidates elected by the grassroots primaries and train them. teach them what to say so they don't do stupid dumb things like get involved in rape and issues that caused you to lose seats. maybe christine o'donnell. there's nothing you can do. train them. show them how to speak. get them the key issues and bullets. that's what a the democrats have been doing. we should do it. republicans should do it. >> there are candidates who, number one, might have history hs here we need to vet. first of all if a candidate like christine o'donnell is involved in witchcraft -- as soon as you hear it, it should be vetted out of the primaries. you have to agree. >> nothing you can do. everybody tried. >> second thing -- >> you know that. i know she was a dope. i interviewed her on the show a

couple of times. that's not the issue. >> it is the issue, larry. >> civil war a -- you're going to create bloodshed. >> you take richard murdoch in indiana. he made the infamous comments about rape and abortion. here's the problem. when he was asked the question he had already appsed it. then he went on and he had no discipline. he riffed on this topic and it toppled his candidacy. he had no discipline. we need candidates with discipline that can raise local money. we lost four to seven seats in the last few cycles. this is a big deal, larry. >> you've got it. we have to get out of here. you guys get all the bush alumni. i love bush but bush doesn't have a great republican brand now. you start trying to show folks how to vote in the gop primaries, you're going to have huge warfare. you are going to have civil

warfare. you are going to have something that goes back to the 1860s. that's not what the gop needs now. let me give you a clue on that. teach them and train them. don't try to pick them. jonathan, sorry, buddy. i love you. i love cakarl. thanks for backing me up. robert costa, i think we have to talk about this. i don't know. we're going to do some stock market work. stocks had their first real correction of the year. big deal. they were due. corrections come and go. i say stay the bull course. profits are the mother's milk of stocks. bet on it. we warned you president obama. once again obama is pushing for higher taxes. don't take our word for it. listen to what he said last night just before the sboel. >> there is a way to solve the budget problems in a responsible way through a balanced approach that the vast majority of people agree with. if we do there is no reason we

can't have strong growth in 2013. we can't b have washington dysfunction getting in the way. >> with all respect, free market capitalism is the best path to prosperi prosperity. more tax hikes will not hurt this economy. let's not push our luck. republicans will block it. we'll be right back. ♪ if loving you is wrong ♪ i don't wanna be right

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stock market correction today. i still believe rising profits and an easy fed will keep the bull market going -- at least until the president tax bombs us to death again. that's what obama said before the super bowl yesterday which could be the real reason the markets sold off today. another big tax hike on investors. here now is dave goldman from fixed income research at bank of america, president of macro strategy and don luskin chief investment officer at. you get all wound up in the europeans thing, the prime minister may have been on the take for construction money. what do i know? why do i care about that? that doesn't mean anything to me. >> i agree. spain is not a systemic threat. it's too small to bring the rest

of europe down. we have asian centered growth in world trade. spain has problems. i don't believe the spanish government has told us the truth, for example, about the banking system. the fact the europeans swept big problems under the rug means they will have problems come back to haunt them this year. i think the u.s. is kind of okay. it's a great time to double down on some of the issues that got beaten up overnight. >> don luskin, it's not a throwaway line. here's obama on the super bowl interview. the guy's talking about raising taxes. he needs to go after investment partnership. harry reid wants to go after oil and gas companies and lord knows what. that kind of tax carpet bombing would generate a correction in the market. the market absorbed the last tax hike okay. but we don't want to push our luck, it seems to me. >> i think we're pushing our luck already. the market has yet to wake up to the reality of the last tax

hike. the problem is obama puts the threats out because this is his way of premeg nating with republicans who are going to come to him in the debate about the sequesters and continuing resolution. obama is saying, don't even talk to me about entitlement reforms. if you oh mention those words it will be tax, tax, tax. i will control the public dialogue and that's all we'll e talk about. guys, fold your cards now. that's what this is about. i don't think there will be more tax hikes this year. there's also not going to be spending reform. all the talk about tax hikes is obama's way of making sure that america doesn't deal with its true problem which is its spending problem. >> i will cross that bridge when i get to it. dave goldman, this didn't have a general market impact, but the federal government, the justice department, a couple of left wing attorneys general, they will all sue s&p. they're probably going to sue

moody's. mcgraw hill fell. they will sue s&p for being credit dummies on mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations. i don't know. is this meritorious? it seems there is no law about being stupid. they were stupid. but if you can't show intent there is no law about stupid. why do this? >> you have e-mails from s&p officials saying we sold our souls to the issuers of mortgage-backed securities. there is a case to be made for intent. i'm not a lawyer. i won't comment on the trial. it's not a far-fetched case. the systemic effects are zero. all of the errors in ratingses have been into the market. subprime securities have been trading off the actual cash flows as opposed to ratings. it may be bad and worse for mcgraw hill if civil suits get in on this.

it won't affect markets. >> i didn't think so either. there is no session. profits are still rising. the fed is still on the easy side. actually, another interesting thing. because the stock market has done well, because the housing market is doing well, we have wealth creation which might put juice into the economy. that, in turn, might roll over into the stock market. >>le well, i guess. but if you take the algebra of that statement and simplify it, you're saying the stock market should keep going up because i it has. >> until they -- >> funny how the stock market doesn't always go up. >> until they make a policy change. if we're carpet bombed by taxes, no. good profits, easy money fed. that won't change. >> i'm not with you on this. profits aren't that good. we have profits but not a lot of growth. how many conversations have we had over the last three, four years about how the fed is too easy. that can create more risk than

reward. do you think the fed can just print our way to dow 20,000? i wish it was that easy. i'm not saying we'll have a horrible bear market here. i'm not particularly bearish. we didn't fall all the way off the fiscal cliff. we fell halfway. you saw how quickly sentiment can change. >> we're up 36% since october 2011. just a tad under the highs of october 9, 2007. david, i think your idea about china is terrific. i think the whole asian situation is a good idea. i have to jump. stick around, folks. cnbc's own maria bartiromo will join to talk about the huge gamble betting on broadway is. tough stuff. big bucks and a slim chance of

success. maria bartiromo joins me later in the show. first up, last night for a 35-minute blackout in the super bowl. whoa. beyonce met solyndra. that's right. what do i mean by that? stick around. we'll try to tell you. >> put down more flap. >> just kidding. ♪ [ male announcer ] when we built the cadillac ats from the ground up

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everyone today is talking about the blackout during the super bowl. the lights went out for half an hour and we don't know why. i think i do. we have brian shactman to tell us the details. >> it's not beyonce's fault according to the nfl at least. >> beyonce meets solyndra. green energy. right away i'm suspicious. >> a few days before the big game the superdome being lauded for efficiency. so efficient they turned off a half the lights for half the game. according to the nfl there was an abnormality like a power surge and a breaker kicked in. they knew what it was quickly. it takes a while to restart it because generators kicked in. if it was all dark it would have

been difficult. everyone was calm. the game was delayed 34 minutes. it was just an embarrassment at best. we don't know exactly what happened. we didn't get a lot of information. >> thankfully it didn't go all dark. that would have been a disaster. that's good. boomer esiason, analyst and former mvp of the nfl, said during rehearsals last week on two occasions beyonce blew out the electricity. >> he said that. >> he said it today, all over the place. >> the other thing. >> he's a smart guy. it's beyonce meets solyndra. >> i spent three days and i was surprised how much of the infrastructure wasn't finished by thursday. they were still constructing a bunch of things leading up to friday. it seemed they were behind schedule. i'm not saying anything happened with the management company. i had not heard that. seemed they were scrambling to get it together. >> not enough electricity got into the stadium.

they rewired the town of new orleans post the terrible hurricane. they rewired lightbulbs, government buildings and libraries. they need more rewiring. at the end of the day you put tension in there and it blew a fuse. not enough electricity got in. >> the one area where this is important is new orleans needs it for their economy. it's half a billion to the economy. they want it in 2018. the nfl says they still want to be in new orleans. they were noncommittal. if they don't get the games it hurts the local economy. it would be difficult to accept if this one thing. the security was great. restaurants were packed. people were happy. if they didn't get it in 2018 it would be bad for the city. you like solyndra meets beyonce. >> esiason said -- >> he's a great reporter. he won a pulitzer, right? >> mvp. boomer says there was a weird

buzzing sound after beyonce finished. can you tell the audience what that was all about? >> all i can say is it takes a tremendous amount of energy to do what she did in terms of electricity. then it stops and the second half started and there was a play and all of the sudden it went dancrk. there is a chance they continued to suck in the energy, they didn't e need it and it needed to go somewhere. >> if they find out, they won't tell us. >> they might have to. some agencies may be involved in this. >> they may have lost 2018. >> they may have. >> thank you very much. now, remember when democrats used to be afraid to admit they want to raise your taxes? president obama and the democrats don't seem to have a care in the world. they are all admitting the truth. is that a great idea politically? another tax hike. how about the economy? next up on kudlow. i'm lorenzo.

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it's our job to look after them. ...it's my job to look after it. ♪ welcome back, everybody. this is "the kudlow report." i'm larry kudlow. in this half hour, president obama on the campaign trail in

minneapolis to promote new gun lawses. he's not going to get the assault weapons ban he wants. he should have gone to chicago where they have a real gun and murder problem. would you put millions of bucks on an investment with only a 20% chance of success? that's what they do when it comes to broadway shows. our own mario bartiromo will go behind the scenes of that world in a primetime special. she'll be here to talk about it. first up, guess what. here's a surprise. president obama wants another big tax hike. he pretends the sequester wasn't his idea. remember, this whole across the board budget cut deadline was his plan going back to 2011. how about that? now the republican house is not going to allow more tax hikes. the president needs to blame somebody else. i think i'm right about the republican part. let's get expert knowledge. we have blake zeff, heather

higgins of the independent women's voice, president and ceo and phil musser of the republican governors association. i know obama is going to raise taxes again. harry reid said it over the weekend. you know that was coordinated. probably wrecked the stock market. that worries me. will the republicans absolutely oppose it? that's the question. >> i think they will. i think boehner has a different view on the realities of negotiating with obama than he did before. it's like lucy with the football. you think you have taken care of the revenue piece. not going to raise revenues through loophole raisings and restructuring. now they're back. there is no amount of tax increase. it will be carbon taxes, vat taxes. there is an unlimited appetite

for increased revenue, not achieved the way you and i would like to achieve increased revenue by growing the pie, doubling the salaries of everybody and increasing revenue that way. they do it through games of rate increases and closed loopholes without the necessary underlying tax reform. >> they have a rate increase and closing loopholes. the idea was rate cuts. they didn't really forget it. >> any more than he forgot jobs in his inaugural address. >> what i see in the same day is a scary thought. on the afternoon of the super bowl i see the president talking tax hikes. that morning on one of the sunday news shows i see harry reid talking tax hikes. once again, the democrats want to raise taxes. isn't that true? that's the strategy here? no sequester, budget cuts, just raise taxes. >> that night the lights went

out on the super bowl. >> that was beyonce meets solyndra. >> beyonce is a friend of obama. it all comes together. >> not bad. >> can we go back to taxes? >> right. so look, it was december 16 or 17 we were in the middle of the fiscal cliff debate. john boehner put forward a trillion in revenue. isn't it? i think he got to a trillion. >> 800. >> okay. >> that's okay. big number. almost cost him the speakership. >> he talked about closing loopholes, talked about limiting deductions. he talked about raising rates on income -- >> no, b no. john boehner talked about lowering rates. heather was outlining what it is. lower marginal tax rates and put a cap on deductions. i'm for that. you all a got your tax hikes

now. they said -- let me bring phil in. obama said yesterday no more tax rate hikes. he did. >> right. >> but we'll have caps on deductions or whatnot. what's the difference? he's aiming at more taxes. he'll take another trillion dollars in taxes. no problem. >> no problem. this is poll tested kabuki theater, all about the gamesmanship of washington. establishing the benchmark for negotiations for the next round. >> where were the republicans? wall to wall on politico, the hill.com, national review. why didn't i see the entire republican house leadership all friends of ours say that they will never assign -- buy into another tax hike? where were they? did they forget? >> no, no. >> were they hung over from the super bowl? >> mitch mcconnell took to the floor. >> mitch mcconnell is trifk. it's the house that matters.

>> in the house today -- let me say what they were talking about. >> where was mr. boehner, mr. cantor. >> i'm going to answer. they were talking about the fact that obama doesn't have a budget and hasn't put one forward. that's a b problem. ryan, boehner, cantor, the bunch of them were talking about president roosevelt delivered a budget on time a month after pearl harbor. george bush delivered it a month after the 911 attacks. obama hasn't delivered a budget for the country and has no plans to in the future. sometime in the next few weeks, it put -- house republicans are passing a bill. >> today was the day obama missed the deadline yet again. that was their focus. >> it's a yawn. >> it is. >> what i want to know is that the gop will stand tall. they are trying to rebrand the

party but don't rebrand lower marginal tax rates. i was disappointed that the republicans didn't say that. that's all. i hear karl rove attacking the tea party. good news. he'll line up the tea party and shoot them. may not have them turn around. just shoot them. what i want is the house leadership to say, no new taxes. >> the new york times is giving rove a big wet kiss for the gift on the weekend. a lot of us feel it's an enormous mistake. we understand why he's doing. the problem with the tax discussion is that it's all, as you said, a complete gimmick. it's poll tested, all about things we know don't work. a little bit of history that mcconnell was superb at bringing up, a reminder about the luxury tax in 1990. it cost 30,000 jobs. cost more in unemployment benefits and lost tax revenue

from the workers who lost their jobs making the luxury yachts and -- >> think mcdonnell has been great. unfortunately he needs the cavalry to help. >> then they repealed it. idi idiotic. >> i don't get the strategy. they want to rip up the sequester though the president and a jack lou who is going to the treasury and should not be, they cooked it up. automatic spending cut. that thing has been wheedled down. 60 billion this year. they know it. when i hear them say they will raise taxes rather than sequester i say, what's the agenda here? if no votes are taken or passed, the tax thing inflames everybody. >> we talked about this before.

i know you don't agree but i will say it. democrats don't fear sequestration as much as you think. >> i don't agree. >> it's not that they want to spend money for the sake of spending money. they don't mind cutting spending to military stuff. they want to protect the social safety and things like that. sequestration doesn't touch it. touches the military. so they are fine with it. reid, the guy hardly talks. when he does he's barely copacetic. i heard him say we want to change everything, rip it up and have at least half the tax hikes. that's what the president said. what can they be thinking? if nothing happens. if the house does nothing the sequester automatically goes through. do you get it? >> yeah. >> does obama? >> this is what i think the game is. this is what will happen. they will try to get some of the tax reform, close some of the loopholes on one side.

and obama could float the idea for social security. >> they're not going to get anything this time. next year, i have no idea. this is one year at a time. unless they are going to commit suicide. >> even with reforms to social programs? >> it's not going to happen. it's less than a month away. this is february 4. it's march 1. a spending cut in our lifetime. imagine that. >> it's a pro growth measure. >> that's exactly what it is. spending cuts are pro growth. >> republicans don't fear it as much as the democrats like to think we do. because we think you have to start somewhere. there is fat to cut.

but revenues are pretty much on track. it's spending that's out of whack but the president says we don't have a spending problem. he believes it's about redistribution, sharing, increasing the size of the pie the government takes to further their goals. >> when does the value added tax come? they will never get the cap and trade but the value added tax. >> they will push hard for it. >> a pop in the income tax. >> they will try to present it as a compromise. >> oh, my god. stick around. we have something else to cover. blake, heather and phil, stay with me. raising your taxes isn't the only agenda item. we are learning the gun control plan. here's a hint. they ain't going to get a lot of

what they want. if you think investing in the markets are a gamble, put your money in a broadway show. maria bartiromo is about to unveil the secrets of betting on broadway. her special. she'll join us tonight for a sneak peek. i'm kudlow. we'll be right back. she knows you like no one else.

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all right. welcome back. president obama traveled to minneapolis today to sell his plan for gun law overhaul. but the assault weapons ban is not going to happen. it shouldn't happen. that's my view. back with us is our panel. do you think the assault weapons plan, semi-automatics, do you think he'll stick with with it? everybody tells me it will never get through. >> he's talking about it. he spoke about it. but the wall street journal report thad the legislation coming to the senate floor will have nothing about assault weapons in it. the fact that you saw his photo shooting a skeet is an indication almost certainly that his internal polling is showing he's losing it with democrats who support guns. >> do you ever shoot skeet? >> a lot. >> even i have. >> i shoot things that fly. >> can we put the picture back on the full screen.

this is a technical issue. notice it's straight horizontal. when they fire it you're supposed to go up. why is he doing that? looks like a made-up picture. >> it could be the wad a. >> i have shot low skeet. if you're doing a double, the second one you can be coming down. >> i feel better. >> you know where you are shooting. nothing behind it. >> as a guy who shoots skeet once every 25 years i feel better. >> you can have the trap fly low as well. >> please continue. >> andrew cuomo whose numbers were stratospheric, it was just reported in a poll just because of his stringent ever. huge. 15 points down. >> another poll came out that showed it didn't move. it could have been an outlier. >> could be. >> i think obama will get the universal background check. >> i agree. >> there was a time when the nra

was in favor of that. i don't know why they changed. it's extremely popular. i'm in favor of it. >> so am i. this is my theory. i don't know it more than anything watching this stuff. because the nra was for it a long time ago, they're acting like they are not now. when you get a compromise you get universal background checks which is acceptable for them. >> what about the oversized magazines? i have seen conservatives for it, against it. >> it's a tough issue. it breaks down to votes. you have such differing viewpoints on this that's probably one that is much more dicey. the big question for obama here is how much political capital ultimately this will chew up. this issue, the immigration issue. we have big pressing problems in our country we are working our way through. he's making the choice early in

his presidency to take it on the road, to campaign on this. they have to figure out where the line is they want to draw. i suspect it gets drawn around consensus issues of university server shall checks. >> i expect he won't get the weapons ban. >> i don't think it will happen. >> democrats don't want it. harry reid came alive just to say it. >> all the senate candidates running in 2014 don't want it. >> why didn't anybody talk about strict prison penalties for people who violate gun laws? you own a gun that's not registered properly, didn't have a background check. that would really dissuade, i think, phony gun purchases. >> you would think they would be talking about how difficult it is now to assist somebody with mental health issues because of the concerns about violating rights. >> they should have no torts on

that. these doctors are afraid to fess up on this or get sued. >> exactly. third, nobody is talking about the fact that the increase in school shootings has come since 1995 when you passed the safe zones which basically is wherever you've got a gun-free zone you are basically putting up a sign for lunatics saying come fire here. it's a shooting gallery opportunity. he picked the only movie theater that prevented anyone having a concealed carry in the theater. >> bad idea. >> i agree with you. i have to get out of here. let's talk show biz. maria bartiromo joining us with a preview of "betting on broadway." not small bets eitherme.

stick around. let's go. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing the all-new cadillac xts... another big night on the town, eh? ...and the return of life lived large.

tonight our very own maria bartiromo lifts the curtains on broadway to tell us where investors are making and losing money. in tonight's special maria talks to the producers of broadway's most expensive musical ever -- "spider-man, turn off the dark" and with the man behind the $5.2

billion hit "the lion king." maria, good evening. this is a very exciting special. we are talking big money here. >> we are, larry. thanks for having me. this is a billion dollar business. betting big on broadway. i think when you go to a show, you know that you are part of something big. but you really don't realize how significant the investment can be. really, how many failures there are, larry. it's a big business. there is a saying out there that says you could make a killing on broadway. but you can't make a living. >> as i understand it, in this special you're going behind the scenes. but you have key interviews. jeremiah harris is one of them. i don't want you to give the story away, but give us a preview. >> absolutely. we talked to the producers of "lion king," "phantom of the opera" wi," "spider-man" which

the most expensive musical at $75 million. we're still waiting to see if it turns a profit. as you know it's been laced with issues from the get-go. they stopped production for a while. they are talking about going oh global. they may have to come up with a different venue as opposed to a theater to actually be able to do some of the stunts they do in times square. this is one of the most excitementing stories out there. spider-man, turn off the dark. then there is "the lion king," "phantom of the opera." in spider-man, julie moore, famous for "the lion king" and "spider-man" had an argument with the producers. there was a lawsuit. she talks to me about it. she certainly sounded off. we have exclusive commentary.

one of the lead talents on broadway today. the lawsuit claims, by the way, copy right infringement and demands a seven-figure sum. we are told a settlement could happen any day. we have been told this for a while. we're waiting on any closure there. there are others that are successful but have yet to make money back. tarzan is one of those that, of course, has not recouped their money. there are so many others. in fact, larry, 8 of 10 shows on broadway actually do not recoup their initial investment. it shows how significant losses can be. >> you may have to re-open the shows around the country, around the world. you said in different venues. maybe you have to sell cds, have t-shirts. you have to really commercialize it. >> absolutely. that's what they did with "the lion king." i don't know if you have seen it. when you leave the theater,

immediately you are greeted by a shop of all a of the dolls and t-shir t-shirts, music. you can buy so much, spend so much money just on products. so the licensing has been tremendous. but of course it's one of the main successes. they have made more than $5 billion, just like "phantom," the lead iing show out there. t there are successful shows but it is not the norm. people invest in broadway. in their heart of hearts they love it. they want to be there and put their money to work. they are not necessarily expecting a huge return on their initial investments. private equity has been a big investor here. when it happens, it can happen big. some of the shows have been extraordinary wins like "phantom" and "lion king". >> when it happens, it can be big. thank you so much for coming on

to give us your preview. now don't miss maria's "betting big on broadway "tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnbc. all right. once again thanks to maria bartiromo and thanks to our distinguished panel, blake zeff, heather higgins and phil musser. i don't know about that presidential skeet shooting. i have to do research on that. i'm larry kudlow. thanks for watching. we'll be back tomorrow evening. all stations come over to mission a for a final go.

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